Sunday, May 15, 2016

Yeah--The Year Is Slowly Coming to an End:)

Hello everyone! There are only another 6 or so weeks left to the school
year with probably just a handful of students who might need some
support in ending the school year on a positive note. This is
especially important with English language learners who have spent the
year not only tackling the course content but also the language. The
focus in this newsletter will therefore be dedicated to offering some
last minute tips on helping your ELLs finish the year on a positive
note.

Many teachers give final exams to their students. May is often spent
preparing students for the finals. Here are some ideas that are popular
and effective:

If
teachers have had students keep notebooks throughout the year, they
might consider letting them use their binders for their finals.Students
who have religiously maintained their binders throughout the year will
feel rewarded for their diligent work habits.

Teachers
often have success with having students (in teacher organized groups)
lead study sessions for the class.When the students are responsible for
creating review lessons for their classmates, they become class experts
on their assigned area in the process.The technique used to deliver the
lesson is left up to the students (power point, video, games, visuals,
etc.). This approach is a highly effective review process.As the class
listens to peer review lessons, they take notes on student created study
sheets.Again, teachers might consider allowing students to use these
review sheets on their final exams.

Another
popular review/final exam prep technique for teachers is to have
students create a study card (index card).On it, students write
everything they think that they will need for the final and then bring
it to class on the day of the examination.

Final
examinations may also be broken up in a couple of class periods.For
example, students might take a multiple choice on one day and then on
another day take the writing component.

Create
a final exam game such as BINGO or JEOPARDY where, after participation
rules are established, the entire class is actively involved in the
review process.

Below are some websites with even more ideas to help students review and retain for finals:

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About Me

I am an educator, adjunct professor, educational consultant, and teacher trainer who has been meeting the many language needs of non-native speakers of English for close to 30 years. I continue to love what I do as much as I did when I first entered the ELD classroom (ELD in California, but ESL everywhere else). What I hope to do here is to share successes, failures, hopes, frustrations, etc. in trying to teach these students. It is my hope that many teachers will join and share as well. What we can do here will benefit us all, but especially the ELL.